Mark Sanford endorses Ted Cruz

South Carolina Rep. Mark Sanford endorsed Ted Cruz at a Charleston rally Friday afternoon, boosting the Texas senator in the final hours before the first-in-the-South primary.

Polls here largely show a close race between Cruz and Marco Rubio for second place, with Donald Trump well outpacing both of them. Sanford’s endorsement of Cruz helps him notch some credibility in the southern part of the state, where Sanford’s district is, even as Cruz has been mostly concentrated on the more conservative upstate region.

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Sanford, who survived a scandal as governor to win a comeback campaign to Congress in 2013, also helps Cruz in the endorsement game, two days after Rubio notched the support of South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley. Rubio also has the support of popular South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, while the state’s other senator, Lindsey Graham, is backing Jeb Bush.

Sanford’s decision appears to have come late in the game: He was spotted at a Rubio rally earlier this week.

His endorsement of Cruz came during the second of four rallies Cruz is holding Friday as he makes his closing argument across the state. He began the day in Myrtle Beach, S.C., and will conclude with stops in Columbia and Greenville, all accompanied by Phil Robertson, a star of the show “Duck Dynasty.”